E-News on the Lane
Highlights from the week at Indian Lane
December 14-18, 2015
Message from our Principal
Wow!!! What a week? My first official day was this Monday and we
were off to the races. Mr. Barry said his goodbyes to the students and
staff. As he left, I could see that he had been working to leave me a
special present during this holiday season. He left me with a school full
of incredible children, teachers, staff, parents, and guardians. This
week provided me with one opportunity after another to appreciate the
tremendous place I have been given the opportunity to work in.
Tuesday, we celebrated with all the students who had birthdays in
December. Wednesday brought the band and orchestra winter
concerts. Thursday morning, provided me with the opportunity to meet
many of the talented young artists at Indian Lane during the Featured
Artists Breakfast. As if that was not enough, I was treated to the All
School Holiday Concert. A gym full of supportive and caring adults
enjoying the wonderful sounds of the holiday from the voices of the
children of Indian Lane. What a week indeed? Thank you all for
teaching me what it means to be a Bobcat!
Mr. Reid
From our Classrooms
Kindergarten
The students have been reviewing their super reading powers this
week. So far the children have learned to be super readers by looking
at the cover and title of a book, predicting what happens next, reading
the story, and checking their predictions. The children are also sharing
interesting parts of their books with their partners.
During math the children have been reading charts and completing
some charts using numbers and tally marks. They have also been
reviewing the skills they learned in Topics 1-4.
First Grade
This week the students continued to work on their nonfiction books.
Our kids worked on their final drafts. They copied their rough draft
into their “good copy” and added teaching pictures with labels and
captions to each page. They really blew us away with the knowledge of
their topics and the details that they used. We will be having a
“publishing party” on Monday to celebrate their accomplishment and
share their reading. Then you should be on the lookout for their final
copy!
Second Grade
In Writing Workshop, we are continuing to discover how to write a
strong opinion piece. Supporting our opinions with evidence from the
text and keeping the intended audience in mind helps us to accomplish
this goal. The children are also developing catchy openings, also known
as a “hooks”, and including both opening and ending sentences in their
writing. In Reading Workshop, we are establishing expectations for
reading our chapter books, including setting reading goals. For example,
a child reading a level L or M chapter book should complete it in about a
week. We also examined our characters at the beginning and end of a
story to decide if they changed in any manner. If they did, we made
inferences as to what caused them to undergo a change. In addition, we
studied our characters to determine what we think their tone of voice
is intended to be in different situations. In Math, we practiced adding
two digit numbers with regrouping and solved two-step word problems.
We also reviewed and assessed Topic 4. In Social Studies, we used
grids to both plot and locate places on a map. We also reviewed and
assessed our Communities/Mapping units. Lastly, the children created
homemade gifts for you, but please do NOT ask them about it…they
want to surprise you!
Third Grade
What a fun and exciting week this has been! Students are working
towards completion of their non-fiction posters in Reader’s Workshop
and non-fiction books in Writer’s Workshop. We look forward to
celebrating these works when we return from break. In Math, we are
practicing fact fluency and writing story problems for multiplication
and division. In Science, students are learning about organs and their
functions in our bodies. This week we even explored our digestive
systems. We are very excited for the Holiday Concert on Friday
afternoon!
Fourth Grade
th​
Indian Lane 4​
grade students are learning about factors. They are
using arrays and multiplication to find the factors of a given number.
The concept is extended to include factor pairs, lists of factors, and
prime and composite numbers. The children are also learning that
factors are related to multiples, which will prepare them for working
with fractions.
Fifth Grade​
In fifth grade in reader’s workshop we working on a unit in
historical fiction. We are carefully looking at character changes and
seeing life through our characters eyes. We are all enjoying our read
aloud book, ​
Fever 1793​
. We have some rich and engaging discussions
when we read this novel.
In writer’s workshop we are working through our first argument essay.
The students have read articles and now they are drafting their
writing. Our topic is should chocolate milk be served in schools?
This week we really loved seeing our peers perform at the band and
orchestra concerts. The students talents were clearly shown to us and
the audience loved the show.
Our trip to Philadelphia in the spring has been set for May 25, 2016.
We will see the Constitution Center, dine at the City Tavern of lunch
and hope to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
From our Specialists:
Art
First graders are drawing a still life. Second graders are creating
molas, a stylized image from Central America. Third graders formed
clay columns celebrating Ancient Greece and Rome. Fourth graders are
reviewing Amish quilts. Fifth graders are rendering drawings of tools.
Gym
All grades participated in holiday-themed games.
Library
We continued to explore coding via Hour of Code this week. Students
also had free choice of a variety of additional activities.
Thanks to all who came to IL Night at MFL last night. It was a lot of
fun! The next 3 dates are set: January ?, February ?, and March ?.
If you would like to volunteer in the library, please visit Mrs. Hatton’s
website or click here to sign up. Thank you!
Music
Thanks to all who came to our All-School Holiday Concert. The
students worked hard for several weeks to put on a wonderful, festive
show for all of you. We hope you enjoyed it!
From our Guidance Counselor
Thank you to everyone who participated in the annual Indian Lane
Giving Tree program. There is lots of cheer to be spread in my office!
Happy holidays to everyone!
From our Student Council
The school store is back! Students can visit the school store to
purchase various fun, school supplies on Wednesday mornings from
8:30 to 8:50 in the cafeteria. Item prices range from 25 cents to
$1.50.
Upcoming Events and Reminders
● Wednesday, 12/23 - Classroom Holiday Parties (times on website)
● Thursday, 12/24 through Sunday, 1/3 - NO SCHOOL for Winter
Break
● Monday, 1/4/2016 - School resumes
● Tuesday, 1/5 - Fifth grade class photo, 9:00 a.m., Gym